When you work primarily from home, getting into a schedule that is focused on productivity can be hard. The temptation is very high to sit in my pajamas all day and live the life of luxury. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case if you want to have a super-productive day. As a teacher, I switch into self-employed mode in the summer. It’s great. But also, awful. Steven King says that “Habit is the bed of creativity”, so I try to enforce a habit of routine and productivity.

You might be surprised that the amount of “work” that happens every day is only between 5 and 6 hours at a maximum. If you work at an office, keep track of your “working hours”. It’s not as long as you think.

Wake up early.

Although there is the temptation to sleep all day, it’s much better to take advantage of those early morning hours. I don’t get up stupid early, but I try to be out of bed a little after 8.

Exercise + Dog

The first thing on my list is to take care of my dog and to take care of my health. Biscuit doesn’t understand “productivity scheduling” and needs attention now. It also gets all her wiggles out so that she doesn’t interrupt me (as much) when the real work is happening later.

Get dressed, not in yoga pants.

Dress for success, even when that’s just you sitting at home. I try to put on real clothes, but also a little makeup, even if it’s just for me. Once I’m dressed for work, it feels more like I’m going to the office, and not just to my couch.

Check emails.

One of the best things I did this year was take all email notifications off my phone. I still have the app, but it doesn’t have that little red badge. I have to deliberately open my email and refresh it to get the emails to come in. I went from checking it constantly to checking it twice a day and this have never been better!

Blog/Client Work Block 1

The is finally the point at which the real work has begun, and I work on that for about two hours.

Lunch

I don’t eat breakfast, so I take some time to really make a lunch that I’m going to enjoy and take an extended break for a little while to do that.

Blog/Client Work Block 2

After lunch, it’s back to work for another three hours or so.

Errands/Household Stuff

One of the benefits of being at home is having time to work on errands and household tasks without worrying too much about taking time off work. The last half of my afternoon is spent on taking care of things at home. Laundry, dishes, more time with the dog, running around town, whatever I need. 

Dinner

Charles gets home around 5:30, so I spend about a half hour working on dinner for the two of us to have it ready for when he gets home.

Relaxation Time

When Charles is home, I try to not to work anymore. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but I’ve been putting in an effort to be present when we are both here and to spend time together as a family with our puppy. 

And that’s it! I’m releasing content I’m proud of and working on projects that I feel great about, and it’s all because I’m able to have this time. I hope this helps some of you!